m    Limited Natural Resources

m    Escalating Housing Costs and an Imbalanced Housing Market

m    A Lack of Economic Development

m    An Endangered Agricultural Heritage

m    Challenges to Funding our Schools

m    Increasing Environmental Threats to Communities

Dear Orange County Residents,

I am an at-large candidate for the Board of Commissioners because I care about what happens to the people who live in Orange County, and my roots run deep in its soil.

For generations, both sides of my family struggled to make good homes for their families in Orange County.  My grandfather, Alfred Barbee, Sr., was a resourceful stonemason who used common fieldstones to build his home, which still stands on Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro.  Sam Rogers, my great grandfather, struggled as a farmer in rural Orange County.  Today, my family and I live on some of the last 13 acres left of his original farmland.

       As a resident of Orange County, I have truly learned the value of community.  I have heard many voices—people across the county—who believe that their children’s futures are sometimes compromised, who believe that their communities are threatened, and who believe that their livelihoods are disappearing and their concerns too often ignored.

      Through my diverse experiences as a high school teacher, college instructor, and educational consultant--as a mentor and an advocate for people and communities--I have acquired the life experiences and leadership skills that allow me to relate to the real needs of people and to the concerns of all Orange County residents.

     I am the ONE candidate whose life experiences have afforded her with the capacity to RECOGNIZE and BALANCE the diverse needs of different communities.  I am a researcher of issues who is undaunted by challenges and will ask the right questions and push forcefully for the best solutions.

     As Orange County's at-large commissioner, I will be fair, do my best work, and be a voice for the many people who will be depending on me.